The EnergySmart program that has already produced greenhouse gas reductions equivalent to taking 3,400 cars off the road in Boulder County will continue, despite the expiration earlier this year of the $25 million federal grant that kickstarted the program in 2011.

City and county officials said they intend to continue to offer energy adviser consultants and rebates on energy efficiency upgrades, though the cost of residential energy audits has increased slightly and there will be fewer rebates in the future.

Boulder County has set aside $700,000 in county funds for EnergySmart through the end of the year and committed to ongoing funding of $1.7 million a year, though that amount is subject to the discretion of the county commissioners.

For its part, Boulder has committed $665,000 in Climate Action Plan tax money for commercial EnergySmart, with more than half of that going to rebates, and almost $400,000 for residential EnergySmart in 2013.

Also, $7.8 million from the original federal grant has been placed in a loan-loss reserve fund to support a low-interest loan program through Elevations Credit Union. That program offers interest rates at 2.75 percent for qualifying energy efficiency upgrades in Boulder and Denver counties. The reserve fund unlocks some $35 million in private capital to support the program.

The Department of Energy grant, which was part of the stimulus program and which expired in May, was shared with Denver, Garfield County and DRCOG. Boulder County got $10.8 million.

With the loss of grant funding, there have been some changes to the program.

Megan Cuzzolino, a residential sustainability specialist with the city of Boulder, said it's offering more energy-advising services and fewer full building energy audits. The cost of the full audit, which provides a more complete picture of how a building is using -- and losing -- energy, is now $135 for residential properties, up from $120.

That's still highly subsidized, though, compared to market rates of $300 to $400, she said.

Audits remain free to commercial properties, as city and county officials hope to encourage more businesses to make that investment.

Cuzzolino said the city experience has been that people need help getting started more than they need the rebates, though many homeowners and businesses take advantage of rebates.

"We have seen that the advisor service has been really successful," she said. "The rebates obviously incentivize folks, but it seems like the advisor service is more useful."

Boulder is also putting $15,000 of its own money and a $15,000 county matching grant into developing an interactive software system that will allow contractors to get licensed for SmartRegs, the program that requires residential landlords to meet certain energy efficiency standards by 2018, and refresh their skills. That program should be ready in 2014.

Lea Yancey, an energy efficiency and sustainability specialist with Boulder County, said the county hopes to build on existing partnerships with regional cities and Xcel Energy to make the program more cost effective and continue to offer advising services and rebates as long as there is demand.

Egg Strategy, a Boulder brand strategy consulting firm, recently took advantage of the energy advisor service and rebates to install new energy-efficient lighting in their downtown office.

Egg Strategy Director of Operations Matt Sommers said the company started out thinking it need to bring more power into the office, but after an assessment, Egg Strategy replaced its lighting and still hasn't needed to add more electrical capacity.

Sommers said the company wanted to do the right thing, but it had to make financial sense as well. EnergySmart rebates and Xcel Energy rebates combined covered 70 percent of the project costs. That means the lights pay will pay for themselves in energy savings in 13 months instead of in almost four years.

That was important to Egg Strategy, which has just three years left on its lease at Walnut and 14th streets and doesn't know if it will stay in the same location.

"A lot of it had to do with financial payback," Sommers said. "And we're doing the right thing, which is what we wanted to do anyway."

Kevin Rechkoff, an energy efficiency specialist with Ecosyste.ms, said those rebates often drive decisions, particularly for small businesses. He sees a lot more hesitation to take on upgrades when rebates aren't in effect.

"Boulder County funds have really pushed a lot of small businesses forward," Rechkoff said.

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